Chinese Baked Buns

Jo and I have been so busy this year we really haven't had enough time to hold our annual Chinese New Year Dinner. (See HERE for last year's photos/recipes) We have been so busy getting ready for Valentine's Day and making healthy recipes for the month of January.

Anyway, I wanted to post at least one Chinese New Year inspired recipe.

I made Chinese steamed buns but instead of steaming them I decided to bake them. I know, I know, it completely changes the texture...but they still turned out really tasty!

They do take a bit of time to make - they have to rise for 3 hours and then rest for an hour - but they are quite easy otherwise.

Chinese Baked Buns

Ingredients

Dough

1 Tbsp sugar

1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1/3 cup very warm water

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

2/3 cup milk, room temp

Filling

1 lb ground pork

1/2 bag coleslaw (about 2 cups)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce

salt & pepper

Egg Wash

1 egg

3 Tbsp water

Directions

Dough - In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in the very warm water. Mix gently and let it sit 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour to oil, beaten egg, and milk. Stir in yeast mixture to form a rough dough. Knead until smooth.

Place in a bowl greased with a bit of oil. Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for 3 hours.

While dough is rising, make filling.

Filling - In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir ground pork until it is no longer pink. Add in the coleslaw, garlic, oyster/hoisin/sweet chili sauce, and salt & pepper. Cook until cabbage is softened, about 5 - 8 minutes. Let cool to room temp.

After 3 hours, place dough onto a floured work surface.

Roll into a long log, about an inch thick, and cut into 16 segments.

Work with 1 segment at a time - keeping the other dough covered with a tea towel so it doesn't dry out.

Flatten piece of dough to a 3 - 4 inch circle. 

Place a spoonful of the pork filling into the middle of the circle.

Pinch edges of dough closed around the filling, rolling slightly in your hand to form a ball after the edges are pinched closed. Place upside down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Repeat with all the dough segments until you have 16 buns.

Cover buns with a tea towel and let rest for an hour.

After an hour, preheat oven to 350. 

Egg wash - In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water. Using a basting or pastry brush, brush the egg wash over each bun. 

Bake the buns at 350 until tops are golden brown, about 20 - 25 minutes.

Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Chinese buns can also be steamed as a method of cooking. We haven't given that method a try yet but it would be interesting to see how the texture changes. 

My family really enjoyed these. Even the hubby, which surprised me as he is not a pork lover, found these pretty addicting. They reheat quite nicely in the microwave the next day too. 

Gong Hey Fat Choy!

Be sure to stop by Easy Life and Horrific Knits and The Mandatory Mooch for some great links to more recipes and crafts!